N.Y.’s Cuomo Defeats Nixon In Primary

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks as he marks his primary election ballot at the Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco, in Mount Kisco, N.Y., Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

FILE - In this combination of file photos, New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon, left, speaks during a Democratic primary debate in Hempstead, N.Y., on Aug. 29, 2018, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks at a press conference in New York on July 18, 2018. Democratic primary voters in New York on Thursday, Sept. 13 will settle the primary battle between two-term Cuomo and liberal challenger Nixon. (J. Conrad Williams Jr./Newsday Pool, and Evan Agostini/Invision, File)

New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon leaves a polling station after voting in the primary, Thursday Sept. 13, 2018, in New York. Democrats across New York state are picking the winner of a long and sometimes nasty primary contest between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and activist and former "Sex and the City" star Nixon. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is accompanied by his girlfriend Sandra Lee as he talks to the press after casting his primary election ballot, at the Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco, in Mount Kisco, N.Y., Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon, right, poses for a selfie with a supporter in Union Square before voting in the primary, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018, in New York. Democrats across New York state are picking the winner of a long and sometimes nasty primary contest between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and activist and former "Sex and the City" star Nixon. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, accompanied by his girlfriend Sandra Lee, puts his primary election ballot in a scanner at the Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco, in Mt. Kisco, NY, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon, center, speaks to members of the media outside a polling station after voting in the primary, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018, in New York. Democrats across New York state are picking the winner of a long and sometimes nasty primary contest between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and activist and former "Sex and the City" star Nixon. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

By David Klepper Associated Press

Thursday, September 13, 2018

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Albany, n.y. — Gov. Andrew Cuomo overcame a primary challenge from activist and actress Cynthia Nixon on Thursday, thwarting her attempt to become the latest insurgent liberal to knock off an establishment Democrat.

Cuomo, who always led in the polls and outspent his rival more than 8 to 1, seldom mentioned Nixon by name during an often-nasty campaign, instead touting his experience, achievements in two terms as governor and his work to push back against President Donald Trump.

“You cannot be a progressive if you cannot deliver progress. And a New York progressive is not just a dreamer, but we are doers,” Cuomo said at a campaign rally the night before the vote. “We make things happen.”

With registered Democrats outnumbering Republicans more than 2 to 1 in New York, Cuomo becomes the automatic front-runner in November’s matchup against Republican Marc Molinaro and independent Mayor Stephanie Miner.

Nixon, a longtime education activist and actress best known for her Emmy-winning role as lawyer Miranda Hobbes on HBO’s Sex and the City, was counting on a boost from liberals looking to oust establishment politicians. She called herself a democratic socialist and pointed to recent congressional primary victories by New York’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Massachusetts’ Ayanna Pressley as evidence that underdog challengers can defy the odds.

But Cuomo secured key endorsements from Democrats such as Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden — as well as musician Nicki Minaj — and influential groups such as the National Organization for Women and Planned Parenthood. And despite Nixon’s efforts, polls showed several key Democratic voting blocs remained loyal to the incumbent, including African-Americans, young voters and women.

The 60-year-old governor spent much of the race touting his own liberal accomplishments such as same-sex marriage, gun control and paid family leave. And he increasingly made the race about pushing back against the policies of Trump and other Republicans in Washington. At the same time, he dismissed Nixon as a naive dilettante and mocked her work as an actress.

“If it was all about name recognition,” he said earlier this year, “then I’m hoping Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and Billy Joel don’t get into the race.”

Despite the rhetoric, Cuomo took Nixon seriously, spending $8.5 million, largely on ads, in the final weeks of the campaign to answer her repeated attacks that the governor has not invested enough in New York City’s beleaguered subway system and failed to deliver on upstate economic development promises.

There were indications that the 52-year-old Nixon’s aggressive campaign actually pushed the incumbent governor to the left on several issues, including legalizing marijuana and addressing crumbling public housing in New York City.

While he may have won, Cuomo, a former U.S. housing secretary and son of the late Gov. Mario Cuomo, did not escape the primary unscathed.

Two of his former top aides were convicted this year on corruption charges related to his signature economic development programs, giving ample ammunition to Nixon — as well as his general election opponents.

Cuomo himself snuffed out speculation that he might run for president in 2020, pledging in his only debate with Nixon that he would serve a full four-year term if re-elected this year.

And then there were Cuomo’s self-inflicted wounds in the waning days of the campaign.

He was mocked for saying America “was never that great” during remarks criticizing Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.

He invited Clinton to a celebratory opening of the final span of the new Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge over the Hudson — only to keep the bridge closed after engineers warned that pieces from the old, largely disassembled Tappan Zee Bridge could hit the new structure.

In the race for attorney general, New York City’s public advocate Letitia James defeated Norwich native Zephyr Teachout and her fellow Hanover High School graduate Sean Maloney in the Democratic primary.